Illinois
House Democrats expected to vote on $53.1B budget as Republicans complains of overspending
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois House geared up Tuesday night to vote on a $53.1 billion state budget but planned to work into Wednesday to get the job done.
Legislative leaders expected that the House would adopt the plan which the Senate OK’d Sunday night. It’s $400 million more than Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed in February and raises taxes and makes other tax code changes to generate $1.2 billion to fund it.
“This budget is balanced, responsible and fair,” House Speaker Pro Tempore Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Peoria Democrat, told the Executive Committee. “It invests in children, it invests in infrastructure, it also invests in our most vulnerable.”
Even though the Legislature has gone beyond its self-imposed adjournment deadline of May 24, lawmakers don’t expect conclusion until early Wednesday because of constitutional requirements on the number of days that legislation must be read publicly.
Republicans complained that Democrats, who control the Legislature, are spending beyond their means and not preparing for what many predict are lean years ahead. Deputy House Republican Leader Norine Hammond of Macomb said she found at least $1 billion in spending that would be pushed off to the following fiscal year.
There’s a $350 million increase for elementary and secondary education, as prescribed by a 2017 school-funding overhaul, but a reduction from what was requested by the state education board in federally mandated school operations. The budget puts an additional $75 million for early childhood education, meaning 5,000 more seats, Gordon-Booth said.
The proposal to provide $182 million to fund services for tens of thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., largely bused from Texas, where they cross the border. And it provides $440 million for health care for noncitizens.
It also pays the state’s full obligation to its woefully underfunded pension funds and chips in an additional $198 million to the so-called rainy day fund to for an economic downturn.
Gordon-Booth said the proposal is just 1.6% more than what will be spent this year. Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, a Jacksonville Republican, noted that the budget is now $20 billion more than a decade ago. He criticized the transfer of dedicated funds, such as $150 million from the road fund and $50 million from a fund to clean up leaking underground storage tanks to shore up public transit.
“I have a concerns that there are gimmicks in this budget that put us on a path to a giant collision in the future,” Davidsmeyer told Gordon-Booth. “I hope I don’t have to say, ‘I told you so’ when it happens.”
The business tax hikes in particular pushed the General Assembly past its adjournment deadline as lobbyists scrambled to limit the impact. But the spending plan raises $526 million by extending a cap on tax-deductible business losses at $500,000. There’s also a cap of $1,000 per month on the amount retail stores may keep for their expenses in holding back state sale taxes. That would bring in about $101 million.
And there would be $235 million more from increased sports wagering taxes and on video gambling. Pritzker wanted the tax, paid by casino sportsbooks, to jump from 15% to 35%, but it was set on a sliding scale from 20% to 40%.
Another Pritzker victory comes in the form of the elimination of the 1% tax on groceries, another of the governor’s inflation-fighting proposals. But because the tax directly benefits local communities, the budget plan would allow any municipality to create its own grocery tax up to 1% without state oversight.
And those with home-rule authority — generally, any city or county with a population exceeding $25,000, would be authorized to implement a sales tax up to 1% without submitting the question to voters for approval.
Illinois
Illinois man charged with attempted murder after officer struck by vehicle
Antwan Ford | Chicago police
CHICAGO – A Ford Heights man has been charged after he allegedly struck and seriously injured a law enforcement officer with a vehicle while trying to flee arrest Tuesday on Chicago’s South Side.
What we know:
Antwan Ford, 27, was arrested Wednesday morning in Vernon Hills by Chicago police and the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, according to police.
He is accused of hitting a member of the Cook County Fugitive Task Force with his vehicle as officers tried to apprehend him around 1:27 p.m. Tuesday in the 2500 block of East 74th Street in the South Shore neighborhood.
Ford was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery to a peace officer and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death, all felonies, police said.
The injured officer suffered serious injuries, though authorities have not released additional details.
What we don’t know:
It was not immediately clear why authorities were trying to arrest him.
What’s next:
Ford is scheduled for a detention hearing Friday.
The Source: The information in this report came from the Chicago Police Department.
Illinois
Pedestrian hit, killed by Metra train in Bensenville, MD-W line delayed, officials say
Thursday, December 4, 2025 10:11PM
A pedestrian was hit and killed by a Metra train Thursday in Bensenville, Illinois, officials said. The Metra MD-W line was extensively delayed.
BENSENVILLE, Ill. (WLS) — A pedestrian was hit and killed by a Metra train Thursday in a suburb near O’Hare Airport.
The crash happened around 1:13 p.m. at Church Road and Main Street near the Bensenville station, officials said.
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The pedestrian died as a result of the crash, a Metra spokesperson said.
Bensenville police said the pedestrian was an adult male. His exact age and identity were not yet known.
The cause of the crash was also not yet known.
The Metra Milwaukee District West (MD-W) train line is operating but experiencing extensive delays as a result of the crash, Metra officials said.
No further information was immediately available.
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Illinois
Illinois man charged with having child porn, officials say
CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. – A northwest suburban man has been arrested after he was allegedly found in possession of child pornography.
In October, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office was tipped off about the “possible possession of child pornography by an electronic service provider.” They began an investigation, which led them to a suspect, identified as 22-year-old Brian Lazaro.
On Dec. 2, a search warrant was executed in the 4000 block of Johnson Ave. in Crystal Lake, leading to felony charges against Lazaro.
He was charged with four counts of Possession of Child Pornography.
No further information was provided.
The Source: The information in this story came from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.
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